The water system of Toronto is huge, with over the course of 520 km of watermains under the bustling city streets. That’s just the watermains with 150mm or greater in diameter. In addition, there are more than 10,000 kilometers of storm and sanitary sewers and you’ve got an entire municipal plumbing system to keep. The task is delegated to a huge city worker that are always available to fix watermain leaks (of which over 1500 occur every year in Toronto) City of Toronto) and carry out routine maintenance like clearing drainage pipes and improving water mains. But there’s another important role that needs that is played by plumbers who are located in Toronto who are directly involved with the users of the water. Toronto Water reports over 450,000 water connections. Each and every connection has to be upgraded or made by a licensed and contracted plumber. There is plenty of work for Toronto plumbers!
Installing New Water Connections
One challenge that Toronto plumbers are faced with is connecting new water lines to homes. It’s not the norm, but at some point someone is required to complete the task. The City will take care of some of the work that involves connecting the watermain with the property-line , while the plumber contracted by the company will do the remainder of the process by connecting the watermain with the plumbing of the property.
Watermains of the past were constructed from lead pipes, and to the present, there’s lead pipes being utilized in many Toronto neighbourhood homes. Nowadays there is a general understanding the fact that lead can be a chemical, but in the past, no person was aware of. That’s why it’s essential for any new homeowners taking place in an older residence for them to get their water system checked to determine if there is lead in the water. A plumber in your area can conduct the test for you.
If you discover that you have lead in your water, it is possible to replace your water with lead. City of Toronto has established an exclusive priority program for water service replacement. This allows you to plan replacement for your watermain using the services of plumbers. The City’s employees will replace the piece of lead pipe that runs from the watermain to your property line, and then the plumbers will install the lead piping that runs from through your property to the home. It is strongly recommended as lead is hazardous to anyone, but those most at risk are pregnant women and children who are just starting out.
Upgrading Existing Water Service
Another thing you’ll see Toronto plumbers busy doing is upgrading the existing water services. Since Toronto has grown, the City of Toronto has grown in both size and importance as well, so has the demands put on the older water pipes that were established in the past. Although many of these water connections are adequate to provide sufficient water in order to satisfy the demand but many aren’t.
This issue is most evident in homes that experience high use of water. For example, if a person is home and running the dishwasher to clean it after dinner, and then taking showers to wash up after a day of work as well as watering the lawn (as is the best time to do this after sundown) The water consumption is likely to increase faster than could be provided by pipes that service the home. This causes low pressure in the water. It is easy to fix this because a plumber can improve connections to the water supply by installing a bigger capacity water pipe. This will boost the water flow and eliminate the issue of low water pressure.
The Toronto Water Meter Upgrade
Recently, Toronto Water has launched a mandatory program to replace water meters. The City is moving away traditional water meters that required technicians to visit and document usage in order to record usage, to a wireless technology which will permit the technician to simply walk down the street and record the usage each time they pass by the meters.
The issue with the brand new meters for water is that they can’t be used on houses with an older water connection connected with galvanized or lead pipes. New water meters are leaky, and they have many issues with these older types of pipes, which is why it is essential for homeowners or property owner to improve their water service connections. This involves calling your nearby Toronto plumber to do the task for them.
Plumbers, Critical to Toronto’s Success
Although Toronto’s City of Toronto has done many things to ensure clean water , including treatment and distribution of the water, it’s the plumbers who provide the middle-man task of connecting houses and improving water supply connections to ensure that water is available to those who require it. Whatever your location may be, the next when you turn on your water, think about this symbiotic connection between municipalities and independent contractors who allow the system to perform.